KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mass confusion – that’s apparently how the majority of people in the metro feel about ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft.
Local research firm Remington Research Group came to that conclusion after polling more than 700 people by phone in the metro area this week. Its study sought to find out how people really feel about pending state and local legislation that Uber claims could force it out of Kansas City.
Titus Bond, director of Remington Research Group, an affiliate of Republican consulting firm, Axiom Strategies, said no one hired them to do this most recent study; rather they were curious to know people’s true opinion as local and state legislators debate how to regulate the services.
The research firm asked people a series of questions, including: “Are you familiar with ride sharing services such as Uber and Lyft?; In your opinion, should sharing services such as Uber and Lyft comply with the same standards and government regulations that taxi cab services abide by? In your opinion, should concessions be made to Uber and Lyft so that they continue operations in your area?”
What the firm found was people were split down the middle, with less than 50 percent of people answering “yes” and less than 50 percent answering “no” to most of the questions.
“There’s clearly no consensus,” Bond explained, “and basically the conclusion we draw is that Uber and Lyft have not educated people as to why they want what they want, and city government hasn’t educated people on why they want what they want. So there’s just mass confusion surrounding the issue.”
He believes that mass confusion is made worse by the one-third of people polled who had no idea what a ride-hailing service does.
Bottom line: Bond said people need to get educated on the issue because no matter what legislators decide, people for and against ride-hailing services will be affected.